New allotments Autumn 2010 Chat

dogcat_2

Hi all,
I'm def. going to the lottie tommorow...with a few helpers that I've managed to bribe!
Still gotta do lots of digging, and move some weeds and rubbish. I've also got to attach some canes up to my raspberry bushes that I have inherited. The previous owner left them, but took her cane supports...
I need to get some onions and garlic on there too...I've been looking through the brochure, but now I need to actually buy some!
Happy Digging!

[Deleted User]

doh, rhubarb came yesterday and I have a very sore throat and just don`t feel like going up to the allotment. I quickly filled a trough with all purpose compost and laid them in there to bide time for a few days. 9 days with my throat now and I think it has developed into an ulcer so I have decided to go liquid only for a few days plus garlic plus veg drinks. No wheat, no sugar and lots of rest so no allotment for a bit. I am so so glad that we worked so hard and got it sorted.

My first picked cabbage is lovely and so far I have used chopped outer leaves in a soup. I reckon it will do 4 days and I know will keep well in the fridge. My green life juicer (20 years old) will extract the goodness day by day as long as I cannot eat solids

angelavdavis

Sorry you are feeling rough kittie. Touch wood, I haven't succumbed to anything yet but am dreading Christmas as I always seem to get sick if I don't go away for Christmas!

We went to the allotment yesterday as the weather forecast was wrong and it was a nice dry day. We put up four posts which will hold wires for training our espalier fruit trees. We are eventually planning to have these all around the plot for this purpose. I am also training some stepover espaliers for the front of the plot - I am very new to all this, but fancied the challenge.

I am very pleased with the posts - we were originally going to go for bog standard fence posts, but found some rather nice rounded posts designed for supporting large trees in Wickes which look more rustic. They were slightly cheaper than fence posts too We will attach wires next visit and tie in the trees. I went to Lidl last night to see if I could pick up some of the cheap trees but they have all been sold so I will have to wait for the next delivery.

We also planted some spring bulbs in the cut flower border ready for next year and cleared/composted the frosted courgette and squash plants. The peas and broad bean plants we planted last time seem to have taken ok. We need to get four panes of glass cut for our freebie greenhouse we acquired as these were damaged in transit. I am busy finishing a new sign for our plot number which will go up next week.

It always amazes me that we don't see more people at our allotments. The site is over 6 acres and people clearly visit the allotment regularly, but we barely see a dozen people whenever we go! I suspect some of the other plot holders are early rises - unlike hubby and I!

pinkparrott wrote: »

And yesterday i was given some plug type plants about 8 of each cabbage , broccoli, and cauliflower and an artichoke so put them in, but think i needs to cover them at some point with fleece or some such ?:)

Ref the artichoke - I recently planted two plants I had raised over summer from seed. They are about 1 foot high each. I have covered with makeshift cloches made of 15L water bottles with the bottom cut out (and with a sprinkle of slug pellets inside in case).

I was thinking I might fill the cloches with straw should the temperature drop but think this should be adequate for our winters down here in Sussex. Having said that, after last winter I am afraid of taking too many risks so I have two backup plants which I planted later in the summer which are living in my unheated conservatory just in case - they can always be donated to the allotment plant sale in spring if the others survive.

Boa

Hi everyone, completely new here.

I've literally just got an allotment, yippee! (after waiting 3 years) but I need serious advice on how to get going. Basically, I know nothing about what I should be doing. Sorry if that sounds dense. I've got time, and enthusiam, but no know how

My allotment is 2.5 rods, which is ideal for me as an absolute newbie. At the moment I'm just concentrating on clearing it. My (probably silly!) questions are:

*What is best to put down to prevent weeds growing back

*How do I tell what sort of soil I have/ what the quality of the soil is, and how can I improve it?

I'd really appreciate any tips / know how that anyone has, I'm probably going to be around a fair amount, asking lots of questions and trying to learn as much as I can.

Please also accept my apologies if I make any mistakes, this is a large forum, and it's going to take a while to get used to it.

[Deleted User]

I was at the allotment for about 4 hours today as it is lovely and sunny and the onion bed was in dire need of weeding. Hands and knees job. It is done now but another lesson is learnt ie I will not be planting onion sets too early again as the garlic and shallots planted later on hoed beds are pretty free from weeds.

I also confess to deliberately killing a slug by dropping a stone on it

[Deleted User]

Boa I am finding that weed control matting is perfect and re-usable many times over

re type of soil: pick a handful up and squash gently. Clay will form a ball, loam a crumbly handful and sandy will break up and feel sandy

I have clay

My best tip is to divide the allotment into sections so that no one area is overwhelming

loucroft

wendyphant wrote: »

Apparently yes you can They usethem in bags of salad in the supermarkets x x
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/making-most/can-you-eat-beetroot-tops_3708.html

Thanks Wendy, could cut them into little strips and add to my lettuce then! Great stuff:T

angelavdavis

Boa wrote: »

Hi everyone, completely new here.

*What is best to put down to prevent weeds growing back

Welcome Boa,

As kittie says, definitely invest in some weed suppressing fabric. Gardeningnaturally have a 10% off sale at the moment. We bought a roll of 50m for our plot when we first got it and we still have plenty left. We have used it to cover all the paths (got hold of shredded bark from tree surgeons who delivered it to the allotments for everyone to use which has covered this now.

We also used it to top off our lasagne borders that we set up (we cut holes and planted plants into it). These are ideal for setting up now and mean no dig, although there is lots of getting hold of grass clippings (freecycle) and manure (free from local stables), etc so its not easy (but still better than digging in my opinion!). It was the first time I had used the lasagne process and I will definitely be doing this from now on and gradually build up raised beds using this process. It is perfect to do now because you can leave it to rot down over winter. I had the best cabbages and courgettes ever in these borders! We also used the weed suppressant on the fruit borders and under the greenhouse we were given.

Boa wrote: »

I'd really appreciate any tips / know how that anyone has, I'm probably going to be around a fair amount, asking lots of questions and trying to learn as much as I can.

Please also accept my apologies if I make any mistakes, this is a large forum, and it's going to take a while to get used to it.

Kittie has already provided you with a few goodies. Others I would add are:

- get talking to people at your site as there is a lot of expertise there that is free. People generally are really happy to offer help (sometimes too happy!)
- find out where your local stables are - you can always use free manure.
- find out where your local wood recycling yard is or where you can get hold of cheap scaffold boards or similar for raised borders and compost heaps to keep costs down.
- use freecycle if you need tools, a shed or greenhouse, it might mean you taking on the challenge of dismantling, transporting and reassembling a greenhouse but its all character building!
- another idea is to use cardboard to suppress weeds. I use it, wetted down and covered in grass as my initial layer on my lasagne garden, it gradually rots down but suppresses the weeds
- keep free CDs to hang up to scare off birds. I never have problems with them in the garden but they are terrors at the allotment and pulled up all our onion setts because we didn't cover them or provide scarers.
- don't knock yourself out or you will lose heart. As kittie says, choose an area to start with, cover or clear the weeds by hand and then cover with cardboard or weed suppressant, excluding the light to stop other weeds developing.
- squash bottles have a multitude of uses on the allotment - use whole on top of canes to protect your eyes, with the top and bottom removed make good collars to give seedlings a chance against the slugs and snails, keep the top on (remove lid) and use as a cloche to offer protection to small plants from frost.

Alison_Funnell

Hiya. We have got our first half plot today. Well that's not the whole story - we had a plot many years ago but the council flayed it and we lost everything. No one was being helpful re getting compensation for lost plants/bushes so we gave that one up. This one is an odd shape, a 9m sq with a 9x10x13.5m triangle on the end.

We are also looking at a potential other one tomorrow - quite daft how simple it has been to get them, considering plots are in such short supply - guess we lucked out.

We are lucky here - very south east, chalky/loamy soil, some shelter from hedges so shouldn't get too frosty in winter or scorch in summer. Mind you those could be famous last words and it will suffer from both!

Any suggestions - we aren't allowed any livestock so no chickens. We were thinking of growing a lot of fruit as this seems to be the most expensive fresh produce we buy. We have a few sad rhubarb crowns that have not flourished well in the garden so we are thinking of transplanting them from their barrel, some gooseberries/strawberries/blackberries and blue berries that can also be planted from their pots. What else is worth planting fruit wise. We have some rasps in the garden but we may get more canes and have a redcurrant from my uncles garden (standard) that we can plant. We may be able to have small trees bit no big ones.

So that was such a winding post. We will grow veggies too but whether in this plot or another is yet to be seen.

Rotwein44

Hello eveyone,

I have just been to view and accept an allotment of my very own! I have just read this whole forum as I am very excited and can't wait to get started. I can't believe it will only cost me £10 (although there is no water supply) for the year from the local church and am itching to get started.

The first job is going to be to get it dug up as it looks like it hasnt been touched in years! I had a chat with some of the other plot holders, including my new neighbours and apparently there is a man with a tractor somewhere nearby who will come and plough the plots for us for a good price so as soon as all the spare plots have new owners they will arrange for him to come and plough for everyone, then he will come back in the spring to rotovate. So I have been hunting for shed/ greenhouses etc on ebay and reading on here for advice! I need to sort out a barrell of some sort for water collection and get some pallets to construct a compost bin!

Am I right in thinking I can now sow onions, shallots, broad beans, peas and garlic? I also have some raspberry, blackcurrant and strawberry plants in pots, can I plant them up now or would it be better to leave them in their pots until the spring? :beer: